This exercise served as an opportunity for the region’s public health agencies to assess their ability to establish, manage and demobilize an Emergency Dispensing Site (EDS) in response to a Phase 6 Influenza Pandemic.

During this exercise public health staff and management along with their public health partners worked together as a unified team to meet the challenges associated with dispensing antiviral drugs to the community’s residents.

Exercise Scenario

An outbreak of unusually severe respiratory illness is identified in a small village in southern China. Over the next 45 to 60 days the outbreak becomes a devastating Phase 6 Influenza Pandemic effecting communities throughout the United States.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) release the antiviral drugs contained within the Strategic National Stockpile.

Exercise Conclusion

The Outbreak Anarchy Tabletop Exercise was held in the morning of March 28, 2013, in Hopedale Massachusetts.

This exercise is an example of the kind of exercises that comprise the nationwide Caduceus Shield Exercise Initiative. This initiative provides meaningful exercise opportunities for America’s health system.